The Get Ur Freak On hitmaker was invited to perform with the Dark Horse singer at the Super Bowl halftime show earlier this year and she's admitted it helped her to find the confidence to release new music.

Speaking about the moment her manager called about the Super Bowl, Missy explained: "She said, 'Katy Perry wants to speak to you, she wants to perform with you'.

"I immediately thought that she would want me to perform Last Friday the record that we did together. So when me and Katy got on the phone, she said she was a fan of my work and that she wanted me to perform, but to perform three of my records.

"First of all, I can't thank her enough. A thousand thank yous wouldn't be enough. She allowed me to perform my records, on her set and she said, 'If you have a new record, you should perform it, this is the time to perform it'.

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"At the time I had some records but I didn't feel as strong about them. I said I'd rather go out there and give them the classics."

The 44-year-old star - who was mistaken for a newcomer by some of Katy's younger fans - also revealed how Pharrell encouraged her to make a comeback.

She told i-D magazine: "I was in the house vacuuming, walking my dogs - after the Superbowl, I'm just acting normal. He said, 'I'm not trying to push you, but people miss you. Do you see what happened out there? Have you seen the charts?'

"I think I was still in shock. It still hadn't registered. He was like, 'I want to get in the studio with you.' Who turns down Pharrell?"

Missy Elliott dropped a new song and video WTF (Where They From) last week.